How to Fly in a Private Apartment in the Sky Using Only Points

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Here’s how to book the most luxurious first class seat in the sky, Etihad Apartment with points.

December 2014, Eithad Airways launched the Etihad First class Apartments. The very first of its kind for on-flight luxury class seating.

Carried by their massive A380 Air Bus, the Etihad First Class Apartments features the ultimate in lavish travel by providing top of the line accommodation never before attempted by other airlines.

The Residence, as it is aptly named, features amenities such as your very own living space complete with a two-seater leather covered couch and a wide flat-screen TV stocked full of entertainment media. It also has your very own bedroom with shower to make your flight feel more like a stay on a swanky mini-hotel in the sky.  To top it all off, you will even get your own personal butler for the whole duration of the flight.

Aside from the in-flight amenities people who book the Residence will be given VIP treatment during the checking in and pre-boarding time. Enjoy your wait in the VIP lounge exclusively reserved for the first class guests.

Photo courtesy of inflight.gr

Available flights

During the launching of the Residence, its maiden flight was only for the London – Abu Dhabi trip. From then on, the Residence has been constantly booked but only by those who are able to afford it.

The good news..?

A flight will soon be available for Sydney Australia coming from Abu Dhabi, although all flights will start by June 2015.

The Residence accommodation is a bit on the expensive side and may be too pricey for regular people, but if you are a frequent flyer you may get the chance to get this accommodation without breaking the bank, that is, if you play your cards right.

So how exactly do you do this?

Well, here’s more good news, Etihad Airways has made The Residences available to those who want to book with using rewards points.

Photo courtesy of inflight.gr

This is what you need to do to book yourself one of these select apartments

First off, it is possible and preferable to get The Residence using points, considering one accommodation can cost you up to $20,000 to $40,000 for a one-way ticket alone.

Some of you may not know but Etihad airways is currently in partnership with American airline miles, and so, once you collect just enough American airline miles, you can book the apartment with just a fraction of the actual cash needed to book the flight.

You will need around 55,130 mileage points for American airlines, plus a cash out of around $282.66 to avail of the first class apartments.

Photo courtesy of inflight.gr

Getting American Airline Miles Points

Don’t have enough American Airline miles? Don’t worry about it, there are strategic ways to get your American airlines miles that wouldn’t cost you as much compared to buying a ticket for the Residences.

Here are a few ways for you to start piling up the points.

Photo courtesy of inflight.gr

Convert Starwood preferred guest points to AA Miles

Starwood preferred guests has a host of partner airlines in which they can convert their points into miles, and American Airlines is one of them. SPG point conversion has a very good ratio of 1:1 to convert to AA miles, and on top of that, you get 20% bonus for every conversion at 20,000 point increments.

Photo courtesy of inflight.gr

Apply for American advantage credit cards

Getting points is as simple as applying for it. Apply for American advantage credit cards and you will instantly get 50,000 AA Miles points after spending $3,000 within three months of use. That leaves you just 5,130 points shy of booking your very own Etihad Airways first class apartment.

Photo courtesy of thenational.ae

Buy the miles, get the bonus

Lastly you can buy the miles which still comes out cheaper than buying the ticket because as of January 2, American airlines is offering a promo that gives bonuses to those currently purchasing miles. Buy your miles wisely and you would be able to get as much as 45,000 miles in bonuses.

So you see, it isn’t impossible for you to ride this one of a kind amazing accommodation from Abu Dhabi to Sydney Australia. All you have to do is use your points right. So what are you waiting for? There are still a couple months left till June, start racking up your points!

Just so you have a glimpse of how amazing the Etihad First Class Apartments are, allow us to share with you a couple of photos of the existing Etihad First Class Apartments that’s currently flying from Abu Dhabi to London. Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of media.etihad.com

Photo courtesy of i.kinja-img.com